Dance Divine presents ballet based on Nehemiah

Members of the Dance Divine School of Ballet perform a scene from “Nehemiah: In The Hand of God” at the Dance Divine studio on Southeast 58th Avenue in Ocala. The free performance will be at the Dassance Fine Arts Auditorium this weekend.

‘Nehemiah: In the Hand of God’

The Ocala company is best known for its Christmas production "Emmanuel, God With Us," and last spring it staged "Esther: For Such a Time as This."

This time, the young, local dancers — and a handful of recruited local actors — will present the biblical story of Nehemiah, who rebuilt and re-established Jerusalem in the fifth century B.C.

"This is a ballet about building a wall," said Ana Jacobs, the company's artistic director. She spoke Thursday evening from the school's studio in southeast Ocala. Behind her was, indeed, a stack of meticulously crafted, cardboard stones for Jerusalem's wall. In front of her were about a dozen dancers in the rehearsal home stretch.

"Nehemiah: In the Hand of God" opens Saturday for a three-show run at the College of Central Florida. It was choreographed by Jacobs and Dance Divine instructors Leighton Mims, Leslie Park and Emily Henderson.

They dance to music recorded by classical violinist David Garrett and contemporary Christian artist Chris Tomlin.

The heart of this production revolves around a passage from Isaiah: "But you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise."

"Praise" is a substantial part of all Dance Divine ballets.

This is a Christian performance troupe that packs the house each year for "Emmanuel," but the dancers and volunteers retain the mission throughout.

The shows follow scripture, and the dancers praise God through their art.

"I just love being able to dance for God and give Him the glory," dancer Whitney Roberts, 17, said last week when asked about her favorite part of "Nehemiah."

Her fellow dancers, some still catching their breath from rehearsing last week, nodded in agreement.

Their joy is as evident during breaks as it is on their toes.

The 65-plus-member cast started rehearsing in January. But before the dancers slip into their pointe shoes for the first rehearsals, Jacobs has them pick up their Bibles and study the passages behind each show.

"We really want to portray these characters as accurately as possible," said dancer Olivia Marion, 17.

They consider facial expressions and body movement when shaping their characters; their dancing must tell the tale, entertain and convey the same joy they feel when reading these passages.

And as such, Olivia added, "we pray a lot, too."

Part of Dance Divine's mission is to bring these messages to as many people as possible, thus they never charge for these performances.

That is very significant, as Dance Divine shows are high-end productions.

"They're wonderful," Ocala's Melody Murphy said. "I've seen them quite a few times over the years. ... I grew up seeing their ballets. Their work is really beautiful and inspiring. The fact that they don't charge for tickets and perform simply as a gift — and are that good — is amazing."

This is the first time Jacobs has staged this story.

"What struck me most about Nehemiah was his prayer life," Jacobs noted. "At first it seemed impossible to do a ballet about building a wall, but I said the same thing Nehemiah said, ‘This ballet will be done by God!' I received a donation for tutus because they were afraid it was going to be a drab ballet, but it is not a drab ballet at all. It is a ballet about repentance, renewal and the beauty of revival and clean lives and hearts. A very appropriate message for our time. Nehemiah is a shining gem of a story, and it speaks to our lives today."

<p>Dance Divine School of Ballet revels in spreading the Gospel on its toes.</p><p>The Ocala company is best known for its Christmas production "Emmanuel, God With Us," and last spring it staged "Esther: For Such a Time as This."</p><p>This time, the young, local dancers — and a handful of recruited local actors — will present the biblical story of Nehemiah, who rebuilt and re-established Jerusalem in the fifth century B.C.</p><p>"This is a ballet about building a wall," said Ana Jacobs, the company's artistic director. She spoke Thursday evening from the school's studio in southeast Ocala. Behind her was, indeed, a stack of meticulously crafted, cardboard stones for Jerusalem's wall. In front of her were about a dozen dancers in the rehearsal home stretch.</p><p>"Nehemiah: In the Hand of God" opens Saturday for a three-show run at the College of Central Florida. It was choreographed by Jacobs and Dance Divine instructors Leighton Mims, Leslie Park and Emily Henderson.</p><p>They dance to music recorded by classical violinist David Garrett and contemporary Christian artist Chris Tomlin.</p><p>The heart of this production revolves around a passage from Isaiah: "But you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise." </p><p>"Praise" is a substantial part of all Dance Divine ballets.</p><p>This is a Christian performance troupe that packs the house each year for "Emmanuel," but the dancers and volunteers retain the mission throughout.</p><p>The shows follow scripture, and the dancers praise God through their art.</p><p>"I just love being able to dance for God and give Him the glory," dancer Whitney Roberts, 17, said last week when asked about her favorite part of "Nehemiah."</p><p>Her fellow dancers, some still catching their breath from rehearsing last week, nodded in agreement.</p><p>Their joy is as evident during breaks as it is on their toes. </p><p>The 65-plus-member cast started rehearsing in January. But before the dancers slip into their pointe shoes for the first rehearsals, Jacobs has them pick up their Bibles and study the passages behind each show.</p><p>"We really want to portray these characters as accurately as possible," said dancer Olivia Marion, 17.</p><p>They consider facial expressions and body movement when shaping their characters; their dancing must tell the tale, entertain and convey the same joy they feel when reading these passages.</p><p>And as such, Olivia added, "we pray a lot, too."</p><p>Part of Dance Divine's mission is to bring these messages to as many people as possible, thus they never charge for these performances.</p><p>That is very significant, as Dance Divine shows are high-end productions. </p><p>"They're wonderful," Ocala's Melody Murphy said. "I've seen them quite a few times over the years. ... I grew up seeing their ballets. Their work is really beautiful and inspiring. The fact that they don't charge for tickets and perform simply as a gift — and are that good — is amazing."</p><p>This is the first time Jacobs has staged this story.</p><p>"What struck me most about Nehemiah was his prayer life," Jacobs noted. "At first it seemed impossible to do a ballet about building a wall, but I said the same thing Nehemiah said, 'This ballet will be done by God!' I received a donation for tutus because they were afraid it was going to be a drab ballet, but it is not a drab ballet at all. It is a ballet about repentance, renewal and the beauty of revival and clean lives and hearts. A very appropriate message for our time. Nehemiah is a shining gem of a story, and it speaks to our lives today."</p>